STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Modi reacted to a spate of Muslim lynching and killings while speaking at the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on Thursday about killing people in the name of cow-worship, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said the prime minister's statement was "too little too late".

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said Modi need not remind people of Mahatma Gandhi's ideals but should ensure strict action against those attacking people on the pretext of protecting cows.

"We do not need him to remind us of this. We are aware of Gandhi's principles ... We want to know what the prime minister proposes to do to stop such mobocracy," Yechury said.

In the wake of recent incidents of mob lynching and killings of Muslims in northern India, Modi had said that "killing people in the name of Gau Bhakti (cow-worship ) is not acceptable".

Modi was speaking at the centenary celebration of the Sabarmati Ashram in Gujarat. He added that India is "a land of non-violence", the land of "Mahatma Gandhi" and questioned why people are forgetting that.

Today I want to say a few words and express sadness on some of the things going on: PM @narendramodi